The Super Nintendo or SNES as it is widely known, was Nintendo Corporation's 16 bit equivalent to the Sega Megadrive, and was the successor to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in Japan on November 21, 1990 and called the Super Famicom (short for Super Family Computer) it quickly established itself as Sega's main rival.

In Autumn 1991, the Super Nintendo hit the American shops. With a different design to the Super Famicom (although the internal architecture was identical), and a different cartridge shape to combat importing of US games overseas, the American model matched the success of the Super Famicom in Japan.

Finally, after almost two years of waiting, the Europeans got to see what all the fuss was about and they weren't disappointed! Sporting the same case as the Super Famicom, but running at a slower clock speed of 50Hz because many TV sets did not have the capability to run at 60Hz, the initial release of the Super Nintendo came bundled with two controllers and Super Mario World. Early game releases included the excellent F-Zero, and an arcade conversion of Super R-Type.

read more...

Over the next few years, the Super Nintendo produced some of the best known video games of all time. Mario made his obligatory appearance in many games (the best of the bunch being Super Mario Kart), and Donkey Kong made a welcome return in the hugely successful Donkey Kong Country trilogy. Other notable successes were Super Probotector: Alien Rebels, Street Fighter 2 Turbo and RPG classics such as Zelda and Secret of Mana.

As the competition between Sega and Nintendo went on, and the games got better and better, so did the technology. Many of the later games released contained additional hardware to create advanced effects, compress data and process instructions quicker. The two most widely used were the DSP (Digital Signal Processor) chip which was used in games such Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart to create 3D effects by scaling and rotating backgrounds, and the SuperFX chip used in Starwing which creates 3D landscapes through polygons and texture mapping (something we are all used to now, but was revolutionary at the time!).

The Super Nintendo was succeeded by the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and was taken off the shelves in 1998. This was due to the phenomenal success of the Playstation. The Playstation had originally been developed by Sony and Nintendo together as a CD add-on for the SNES, but they scrapped the idea. Sony took the technology they had been working on and created the Playstation. The rest is history.

Many people regard the Super Nintendo as the best video game system made, and few could argue the effect it has had on recent game developments. The Nintendo / Sega war that raged in the nineties was the same as the Commodore / Spectrum war of the eighties, and however you feel about the console it will always remain one of the most significant piece's of video gaming history.

Buy Super Nintendo For Sale at Console Passion

State of the art soccer management simulation and world famous kick off played independently or interlinked. Kick Off - one or two players option. Numerous skill levels, Challenge Cup and practice option. Manager - three management skill levels, three division league and two Cup competitions. Options to play on the pitch or watch and get...

End to end action at a blistering pace simply takes the breath away. Packed with options providing a great variety in game play. Battery back up ensures you can save and continue at a later date. The League, Knock Out Cup, European Cup and Euro Trophy Competitions. The team and player names as well as the kit design can be changed and stored....

Superb 'gameplay' with instant playability. One hundred European and twenty-four International team, each with a different style and strength based on the quality of nine types of key players like Playmakers, Wingers, Liberos etc. A soccer game unlike any other you have played before.

Hey Kid, Help me out! I've got to run for my life from evil space pirate Blackjack. He wants to conquer the planet with bombs, banana peels and booby traps; And I need all kinds of balloons and klown coins to escape! It's the spookiest, kookiest race you can run. With new diagonal scrolling for pie-in-your-face action! Plus hidden zones...

Don't wait in endless arcade lines to play - Killer Instinct comes to the Super Nintendo with action, graphics and sound that annihilates all other combat games. Fulgore, Jago, B.Orchid, Spinal and all your favourite warriors contend in the ultratech KI Tournament. Each combatant engages in the KI Combo Theory of connected moves and...

Don't wait in endless arcade lines to play - Killer Instinct comes to the Super Nintendo with action, graphics and sound that annihilates all other combat games. Fulgore, Jago, B.Orchid, Spinal and all your favourite warriors contend in the ultratech KI Tournament. Each combatent engagaes in the KI Combo Theory of connected moves and...

Evil has darkened every part of this world, from the endless labyrinth of caverns beneath the mountains, to the mystic kingdom in the clouds. Lead your army against it, hand to hand against the hordes of dark knights, wicked goblins and flame spewing behemoths that stand in your path. Avoid the boiling cauldrons of oil, the underground traps and...

Only the Monsters will survive. Man is no longer master of the Earth - the era of the Super Monster has arrived. Mankind quakes in fear, as the Monsters do battle to discover who the strongest Super Monster of all is. Become one of the four Super Monsters, and fight to destroy fellow Monsters and human foes alike. Defeat all enemies to be...

Scan the course and check out the obstacles ahead. Get ready for the most surprising game play imaginable in Kirby's battle against King Dedede! This checkerboard challenge brings outrageous hazards and bizarre surfaces. Warp panels instantly transport you to new and exciting challenges. Conveyor belts provide higher levels of adventure....

Dream Land is under siege again! Our hero, Kirby, returns to instigate a rescue. King Dedede is snatching up Dream Land's food supply, but he's not the only one! Dyna Blade, Meta Knight and a slew of other evil baddies are on the loose and wreaking havoc throughout the land. Use any of Kirby's amazing powers to create a 'helper' to assist you in...

Trapped! The call is heard in the hills and valleys throughout Dream Land! The people of the country hold their breath in wonder. The First Annual Dream Land's ghost Trap Competition has begun! It's up to you to blast Kirby's adversaries in the most thunderous puzzler around. Strategically stack the...

Hey kids! Help out your old pal Krusty the Clown! My official Krusty's Fun House is infested with rats! There are over sixty levels in the game just crawling with the little varmints! I've got my local cadets, Bart and Homer Simpson and Sideshow Mel amongst others, to guard the rat traps and Krusterise the little stinkers!

Hey kids! Help out your old pal Krusty the Clown! My official Krusty's Fun House is infested with rats! There are over sixty levels in the game just crawling with the little varmints! I've got my local cadets, Bart and Homer Simpson and Sideshow Mel amongst others, to guard the rat traps and Krusterise the little stinkers!

Imagine speeding along endless American highways in the fastest sports car in the world, racing against a multitude of artificially intelligent competitors in a bid to become the world number one. Well now your greatest fantasies can come true as you take the wheel of a Lamborghini Diablo in an attempt to become king of the Saturday Night races,...

Last Action Hero blasts you out of the real world - on to the silver screen - and back again, in seven levels of non-stop action and adventure based on the epic fantasy adventure starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. As movie hero Jack Slater, you'll team up with your biggest fan, Danny Madigan, who's got a magic movie ticket that's the ticket to...

Nothing can prepare you for the amazing world of virtual reality… As a film, The Lawnmower Man exploded the boundaries of graphics technology. As a game, it will blow your mind with a dazzling blend of breathtaking 3D and blockbusting action. It all begins in the shadowy research agency known as 'The Shop'. Here, the brilliant but...

Dare you enter the land of Sellach and take on a terrifying army of evil? A non-stop-action "beat-them-all" with incredible graphics, huge sprites, stunning special effects and playability worthy of the arcades. Only you can free the people of Sellach, and keep Clovis from resurrecting the evil power of Beldor. Make history with Legend!...

A curse has stricken the village of Horo-Horo. Their beloved princess has vanished. And without her powers, a plague of giant locusts will ravage the helpless. Talk about sick! All help rests with the village's two ninja guardians, Kid Ying and Dr. Yang. Ying is a daring young mystical ninja who often rips apart opponents while riding a...

A curse has stricken the village of Horo-Horo. Their beloved princess has vanished. And without her powers, a plague of giant locusts will ravage the helpless. Talk about sick! All help rests with the village's two ninja guardians, Kid Ying and Dr. Yang. Ying is a daring young mystical ninja who often rips apart opponents while riding a...

In all his glory, link ventures back to the land of Hyrule. The predecessors of Link and Zelda face monsters on the march when a menacing magician takes over the kingdom. Only you can prevent his evil plot from shattering the peaceful Hyrule. In your quest you'll venture into twisting mazes, dungeons, palaces and shadowy forests. Test your...

Thousands of Lemmings are on the loose, marching towards extinction unless you can save them. Without minds of their own, they are completely helpless, faithfully following their leader through 125 levels of blazing fires, endless canyons, deadly tunnels and ancient ruins. One thing's for sure: their future lies in your hands, because beyond...

Thousands of Lemmings are on the loose, marching towards extinction unless you can save them. Without minds of their own, they are completely helpless, faithfully following their leader through 125 levels of blazing fires, endless canyons, deadly tunnels and ancient ruins. One thing's for sure: their future lies in your hands, because beyond every...

Guide twelve tribes of Lemmings across Lemming Island on an incredible journey. The Lemmings are in trouble and only their ancient talisman and a huge amount of skills can save them in this long-awaited follow-up to the Lemmings saga. Meet the Highland Lemmings, Space Lemmings, Beach-Bum Lemmings, Circus Lemmings and many, many more on a quest...

The Marooned on a tropical island far from home, Lester faces it all with the courage of a small frightened rodent. Our unlikely hero has as much trouble walking as he does facing treacherous obstacles. It's the ultimate 'geek to greatness' adventure as you guide Lester through his rite of passage. Help him face the terrors of the beach, the...

Lethal Enforcers is out to clean up the streets in the baddest parts of Chicago. Digitized graphics and sound will slam you into cold reality and heated action. Your job is to defend the innocent and protect yourself from a fatal case of lead poisoning.

You know what it's all about. That's right. The crazy cop and his almost as crazy partner are back to do the city a world of good. As Martin Riggs or Roger Murtaugh, you must take on drug smugglers, terrorists, The Organisation and a live bomb at a shopping mall. Which of these four missions will you tackle first? One thing's for sure, they'll all...

Facebook Log on

Just In!

AV cables to connect your Super Nintendo to your TV set via AV port instead of the RF socket. This cable outputs full stereo sound to your TV, and gives improved picture quality as there is no interference! The other advantage is that you do not...